The Official Blog of Tara Marie Segundo, M.A.
People always say they have an “active” lifestyle—but do they? I use my 168 Hours Rule® to help gauge just how active they really are!
Here’s how it goes: there are 168 hours in one week. Let’s say you average 8 hours of sleep per night. If you’re “really active,” maybe you hit the gym four times per week for one hour.
Do the math: 168 hours minus 56 to sleep and another 4 to exercise leaves you with 108 hours to be either “really active” or sit at a desk, sit on the couch; sit in your car, etc.
You MUST move as much as possible during these remaining 108 hours in the week. This is critical time during which you can either burn calories doing what I call, “incidental exercise,” or store calories by being sedentary.
So, STAND when you could sit; WALK when you could ride; take the STAIRS when you have the option of the escalator or elevator. At the grocery store, don’t use a push cart—CARRY two baskets and fill ‘em up for a great workout. Use a cordless phone and PACE around the room during conference calls at work; GET UP to talk to your office mate rather than emailing a colleague that is 20 feet away! It’s math, not magic!
Use my168 Hours Rule® and GET MOVING!
Live with Simplicity,
TMS
When you are trying to transform your body, your health, and your life, there will be pitfalls along the way….that’s just how it is. These pitfalls or “booby traps” are things to which we are all susceptible. The only way to make sure that you don’t stop your forward momentum toward your goal of personal transformation is to challenge your thoughts and the thoughts and opinions of others that could derail you.
Are you eating a low-fat diet rich in complex carbohydrates with moderate amounts of protein, and you’re still one of the millions of people getting fatter and fatter?
Did it ever occur to you that even though your diet may be low in fat it’s too high in calories, and that’s why you’re not losing weight?
The “eat-all-you-want-as-long-as-it’s-low-fat” approach is the reason that many people think it’s OK to eat half a box of low-fat cookies everyday as an afternoon snack…then they wonder why they can’t zip their pants!
Think of your body as a bank account: if you make more deposits than you do withdrawals, your bank account grows. In the same way, if you consistently eat more calories than you need (and make too many “deposits” in your fat cells) your hips grow!
While there are many factors that determine how many calories your body utilizes each day, the bottom line is that you cannot eat as much as you want just because it’s low in fat; calories do count!
